Control arm DYI?

[dudecati]

Hi All - looking to do the control arm job on my new to me 91 318is. I'm looking at the FCP Meyle HD kit - seems like its all there for a good price. Thing is - I've not done this before. I searched (trust me I did, but I never seem to find what I'm looking for) and didn't find a DIY.

Can anyone point me in the right direction for a write up or a DIY on how to do this? Is it a fairly simple job (I do have access to a lift)?

Thanks!

[IronFreak]

Are you looking to press in new ball joints?

[IronFreak]

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=206244

[Earendil]

One of the great things about owning an E30 is that many people have worked on their own, and written about it.
So things like this will usually work just fine. I tend to prefer pelican articles, but forums can be good if they have lots of pictures, as often times the "gotchas" are in the followup replies.

[Jahman093]

I just did this about a week ago and wasn,t too hard at all. It,s pretty straight forward by just removing nuts and puttng new one on.

Tools needed:
1/2 or 3/8 ratchet
Sockets 22mm(need 22mm in wrench as well or 7/8) 19mm 17mm and a 16mm?(sway bar links)
extentions
**ball joint seperator**
hammer
about an hour and half of your time

I did this on my 325 so i dont know if the bolt sizes are the same

First thing is jack up the car and remove front wheels and put on jackstands

Next grab your 22mm wrench and remove the top nut to the control arm. This is going to be a PITA for passenger side due to exhaust, so you only have room for a wrench. Driver side is a bit easier. Once broke loose take some extentions and remove nut through top of engine bay.

Once that is removed, remove the two 17mm bolts holding the lolipop on

Then take your 19mm and remove the nut attached to the wheel.(this you will need your ball joint seperator for)

Finally take your 16mm socket and remove sway bar link(will have to transfer its base piece to other control arm

Putting new one on is just reverse

Good luck! hope this helps

[jlevie]

The only difficult part of changing control arms is dealing with the control arm bushings. That is really a job for a press, but there are ways around that. You will need to change those bushings and I recommend using the M3 offset bushings.

[dudecati]

Thanks all, parts ordered (including offset bushings). Appreciate the links and pointers!

[Just Scott]

I found that dropping the subframe an inch or so really helped with being able to see what I was doing. It gave a little more access to the nuts as well. Use your floor jack to support it.

I was working from the wheelwell, not from the top as I find it easier to sit on my butt than bend over. But I'm an "old guy" on this forum.

[iwantspeed]

If you jack up the engine with a 2x4 and a floor jack on the oil pan just to support the weight of the engine. You can remove the engine mounts and fit a wrench in there.

In my case I had to place a second floor jack on control to keep the bolt from spinning.

Another issue I had is once I got the nut loose the tapered part of the control arm would not let go from the subframe. I had to use a big fucking hammer and an extension to beat down on The control arm bolt.